Carnival of Feminists, December 2009

By Helen G | 27 December 2009, 19:30

The latest Carnival of Feminists is up at Penny Red. At a time when many people are in a festive mood, it’s encouraging that Penny Red has resisted the temptation to roll out a host of “cheery, unproblematic links and…

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Trans activist Sass Rogando Sasot’s speech at the UN

By Helen G | 14 December 2009, 07:41

You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrOc6CIQjtc A written transcript of the speech Reclaiming the lucidity of our hearts may be found on the blog of her organisation, link here United Nations, New York, 10 December 2009: Panel discussion organized by the…

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Update: Trans inclusion in the Equality Bill

By Helen G | 7 December 2009, 20:05

Further to my recent post, an update has now been emailed to members of the Facebook group Trans inclusion in the Equality Bill - ACT NOW. Subject: What happens next? Hello everyone, Thank you very, very much for joining this…

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Buy “Beautiful Star - the Songs of Odetta” and raise money for women’s rights

By Helen G | 7 December 2009, 19:04

A tribute to folk musician and civil rights activist Odetta Holmes has been produced by Wears the Trousers magazine, which highlights the world of women in music, and all profits from sales of the album will be split between Fawcett…

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Disability, sexuality and rights online training

By Helen G | 30 November 2009, 20:57

CREA, the feminist human rights organization based in the global South and led by women from the global South, is to run a 9 weeks (5 hours a week) online course for practitioners and activists in human rights, public health…

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ID cards now available to people living in Manchester

By Helen G | 30 November 2009, 10:48

Via the UK Press Association (link here) and the Guardian (link here) comes the confirmation that, as promised by the Home Office six months ago, the ID cards scheme has finally been launched in Manchester. However, as seems to be…

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Trans inclusion in the Equality Bill - ACT NOW

By Helen G | 24 November 2009, 19:33

Via Facebook (link here): Trans inclusion in the Equality Bill - ACT NOW This group is designed to raise awareness of two amendments that are being tabled to extend trans protections in the Equality Bill. You can make a difference…

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Eight rooms, Nine lives

By Helen G | 24 November 2009, 16:54

This Thursday, 26th November 2009, sees the opening of a new exhibition, focusing on identity and called Eight rooms, Nine lives at the Wellcome Collection (link here) in London. What influences or determines our sense of who we are? What…

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11th International Transgender Day Of Remembrance, 20th November 2009

By Helen G | 20 November 2009, 08:07

For many trans people, life is not easy. Nobody said it would be. But being trans is not something we choose and as a consequence transitioning may not be optional either. For some of us it’s something which we must…

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TDOR photo exhibition, Brighton, 19-21 November

By Helen G | 17 November 2009, 10:30

From Thursday 19 November to Saturday 21 November, in the Entrance Foyer of the Jubilee Library in Brighton, there will be a public exhibition of photos of some of the people who have been killed in the last year. Some…

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London woman’s murder: cis man arrested

By Helen G | 13 November 2009, 14:01

At around 1am on Thursday 5 November, Destiny Lauren was found strangled at her home in Kentish Town, north London. Although she was rushed by ambulance to the Royal Free hospital, she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. Detectives from…

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Friday 30th October is Equal Pay Day

By Helen G | 30 October 2009, 07:45

Friday 30th October is Equal Pay Day, a day of action lead by the Fawcett Society to draw attention to the fact that, on average, women’s full time mean hourly pay is 17.1% less than men’s. 30th October symbolically marks…

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Launch of the Transgender Resource and Empowerment Centre, Manchester, 7 November

By Helen G | 25 October 2009, 16:30

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR THE NW TRANS COMMUNITY Saturday November 7th 2009 You are invited to the launch of TREC - an innovative new Trans Resource & Empowerment Centre for all trans and gender variant people in the North West (&…

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EHRC - Trans inequalities reviewed

By Helen G | 21 October 2009, 20:55

The Equality and Human Rights Commmission (EHRC) has published its Research Report 27: Trans Research Review, a review of evidence on the inequalities and high levels of discrimination faced by trans people in Britain. This includes such things as: attitudes…

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Murdered woman’s flat set alight; cis man arrested

By Helen G | 19 October 2009, 14:32

I know I’m a bit late with this one, but the media coverage - primarily in the Daily Mail, but also by BBC News - is, quite frankly, really starting to irritate me and I really have to rant a…

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Fifth Carnival of Feminists is up!

By Helen G | 30 September 2009, 19:16

Ace blogger and writer Chally has put together a fantastic Fifth Carnival of Feminists for our enjoyment. She’s hosting it over at her blog Zero At The Bone and with a host of links to click, there’s no shortage of…

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Sex work and sexuality group blog launch

By Helen G | 3 September 2009, 12:41

The sex work and sexuality group blog which I mentioned last week has now been launched as planned. It’s called Harlot’s Parlour and can be reached via this link. From Caroline’s introductory post on the site (link here): In the…

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Pakistan’s undesirables: ‘Dealing with’ the hijra problem

By Helen G | 28 August 2009, 11:40

There’s a thought-provoking post over at Sherryx’s Weblog (link here) about the hijra community in Pakistan. (T-Vox carries this definition of hijra: “In the culture of the Indian subcontinent a hijra is a physically male or intersex person who is…

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Sex work and sexuality group blog

By Helen G | 25 August 2009, 14:45

Via Caroline at Loserdust (link here): Sex work and sexuality group blog I am in the midst of setting up a group blog for sex workers and allies about, as the title of this post suggests, sex work and sexuality….

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Feminist Carnival #2 is up

By Helen G | 24 August 2009, 16:50

The second Feminist Carnival - “a reinvention of the original Carnival of Feminists” - is up at the Female Impersonator group blog, thanks to Lindsay and Amelia’s hard work. In the tradition of the original (now dormant) Carnival of Feminists…

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Iris Film Prize 2009 now open for submissions

By Helen G | 12 January 2009, 14:55

The Iris Film Prize is now open for submissions for the 2009 Festival. The Festival itself will be held in Cardiff from 7 - 10 October 2009 and there will be three awards, as follows: Iris Prize - Cardiff’s International…

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“Discrimination against transgender persons must no longer be tolerated”

By Helen G | 8 January 2009, 13:35

“Transgender persons encounter severe problems in their daily lives as their identity is met with insensitivity, prejudice or outright rejection” says Commissioner Hammarberg [the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights] in his latest Viewpoint. Analysing the various difficulties transgender…

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